<p>Are we talking about the U.S against Brazil with or without Neymar?</p>
<p>I wasn’t thinking specifically about Brazil although we would have a chance if their defense played like they did against Germany and if Neymar was out.</p>
<p>I like having a better than average coach and a better than average goalkeeper. It makes up for some of the other weaknesses we have. I agree with momsquad that JK knows what he is doing and will have us ready for 2018.</p>
<p>I think it’s also worth asking, with or without Altidore? While we don’t know what difference he would have made, his absence messed up the plan. (The lack of a replacement was, in my opinion, a flaw in the plan.)</p>
<p>Had we known a few months ago that the US team would be heading to Brazil without Donovan, would lose Altidore early, and Dempsey would be playing with a broken nose, some of us might have wagered on the team to lose every game. Where would the goals be coming from?</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Actually, I thought the US would not win a single game. They did MUCH better than expected, but a large part of the success was truly fortunate. A clueless Ghana that played its worst soccer in years. A surprise goal by Dempsey and a goal from nowhere by Brooks sandwiching 88 minutes of one sided soccer. A spiritless and decapitated Portugal for the ONLY decent performance of the US. A poor showing against Germany. </p>
<p>And then the game against Belgium with Howard in a shooting gallery. More than thirty chances on goal and 16 saves tell you the entire story. A story that was all but predictable when Belgium’s B Team showed the level of difference in a Spring friendly which could have ended in a 5 goals difference.</p>
<p>As exciting as the spirited defense was, it does not mask the weaknesses of the US. Its best players are still Howard, Beasley, Dempsey, and Donovan. The rest are pedestrian journeymen. There are hundreds of Altidore running around Europe. His form was horrible before the WC and he would have not made the roster of 30 teams in the US. Think about who his substitutes were! </p>
<p>As far as Klinsmann goes, he made his point with Donovan. Wrong point, too! The page has turned but there is little joy in the future. The foreign imports are players who would NOT make their other national team. The best, by far, is Fabian, but again he is no superstar. </p>
<p>The US happens to have both the luxury and the problem of playing in the very average CONCACAF. For the region, the WC was mostly a fluke. The performances were clear during the qualifications. </p>
<p>The bottom line? Expect the US to return to the WC as all they need to do is beat out teams like Panama or Jamaica for one of the four spots. But do not expect the team to be more than a 20th ranked team that would be around 40th in the world if playing in Europe. If there were preWC games between CONCACAF and SAM and EUROPE , which we SHOULD have, the CONCACAF might have one WC team. </p>
<p>I wish it would be different, but we are who we are, and that is merely average players with a great heart. </p>
<p>Here are some European soccer powerhouses that can be overtaken in the future:</p>
<p>Switzerland…8 million people
Portugal…10.6 million people
Greece…10.7 million people
Belgium…11 million people
Netherlands…16.8 million people</p>
<ol>
<li>We have around 1.5 million boys playing youth and school soccer. That’s a much larger talent pool.</li>
<li>Some parents are now reluctant to sign their boys up for football. Some of those boys will be playing soccer.</li>
<li>Our population rate is increasing while Europe’s is declining. We are drawing Latinos who play soccer.</li>
<li>Our Development Program is improving. </li>
<li>As MLS salaries increase they will attract more youth players who are on the fence about their futures.</li>
</ol>
<p>Someday we will close the gap and become World Cup contenders.</p>
<p>I think this was mentioned earlier, but I think improvement will escalate when more youth soccer coaches are people who played reasonably competitive soccer themselves.</p>
<p>The size of the population is a poor indicator. Look at Uruguay! By the same logic, China and India would be dominant nations in soccer, or in the Olympics. The real test is in the culture associated with the sport and the need for the sport to be the dominant game in that country. </p>
<p>Further, while nobody can predict the future, there are other handicaps for the US, including the attraction of big dollars in your favorite US sports, and also the established system that makes necessary steps to play in schools and colleges. Unfortunately, with an extremely small number of cases, soccer in schools is totally irrelevant or has a mostly negative impact on the sport through moronic regulations. </p>
<p>Simply stated the US competes with countries where promising talent is put on display much sooner, Very young teenagers are courted and cajoled in the hopes of joining the rich teams before their 16th birthday when they can turn professional. At best, some parents imposed to finish high school (often via specialized programs for athletes) but the world of 15 to 18 years is one that is now very competitive. </p>
<p>I am familiar with the processes in the US and Mexico for having part of the competitive scene in both countries, and very familiar with the differences with Belgium, where I have an extended family as well. I had the opportunity to visit the youth center which was part of my dad’s early years in soccer. It is an amazing site, and not only for the installations but also for the talent that oozes out every youth team. Noteworthy was that one-half (if not more) were kids from immigrant families, with plenty from various countries in Africa. </p>
<p>Based on a soccer tour in Germany and having played against the youth teams of Bayern Munchen (for trivia, the U-15 coach was none other than Gerd Muller) Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen (when Donovan and Ballack hosted us) I can share that Americans could keep up with their German counterparts in terms of athleticism and ball technique. The locals were taller but not faster and relied on discipline. The real key, however, is what happens next. We returned to our competitive league in Texas, a silly HS season that interrupted the “select soccer” to satisfy UIL, and a short Sping season with a few state, regional, or national championships. The path to play at a professional level was a long one with plenty of detours unless one made the decision to drop out of school. In Mexico, in contrast, all my 16 years old reammates had dropped out of school to pursue the elusive dream to make it to the first team via the Third division. Soccer was their profession! </p>
<p>Back to the population comparision, the fact that soccer is so popular on a rec basis should translate in better players, but the question really should be about the 16 years old who could sign pro contracts and get the guidance at the highet level, as well as been able to play in a tough competition. On a trivial note, Manchester City, the UK champion played Dundee a few days ago as part of their preseason. The stars such as Kompany were absent (WC) and the team started with 3 VERY YOUNG Belgians in the back lane. Look up Denayer and Bossaerts anc check their age. This leads to Klinsmann finding a Green or Brooks in the young teams of German teams. We marvel at their entry in the WC but might forget that those players have acquired years of experience at the highest level. </p>
<p>We simply do not have anything that compares favorably. </p>
<p>That’s an interesting post, Xiggi, and it makes me wonder whether we actually want to be competitive in soccer on a global basis if that’s what it takes. I think many of us are already a bit uncomfortable when we read about the lives of young Olympic athletes.</p>
<p>By the way, I was not off by too much. Here are the official rankings after the WC. Brazil jumped ahead of Spain.</p>
<p>1 Germany 1724</p>
<p>2 Argentina1606</p>
<p>3 Netherlands1496
4 Colombia 1492
5 Belgium1401</p>
<p>6 Uruguay1330</p>
<p>7 Brazil 1241
8 Spain 1229
9 Switzerland 1216
10 France 1202</p>
<p>11 Portugal 1148</p>
<p>12 Chile1098
13 Greece 1091
14 Italy 1056</p>
<p>15 United States 989
16 Costa Rica 986
17 Croatia 955
18 Mexico 930
19 Bosnia and Herzegovina 917
20 England 911</p>
<p>Xiggi, how many of your 16 year olds teammates became professionals?</p>
<p>When my son was 13, his team played against the number 1 select team in the US. That team was from Dallas. Every players was great on that Dallas team including the bench players.</p>
<p>It took 10 minutes for that Dallas team to score. :)</p>
<p>I think the thing that will bring about the quickest change is that now ESPN and other companies see that people are watching and there is money to be made. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>DS, I think I probably know the team you’re talking about, although the immensely large club run by a marketing genius who played in the WC with Iran has not delivered the best team every year. It’s the team that attracted Clint Dempsey from the Longhorns. In my direct age group, the Dallas Texas were successful in sending a HUGE number of students to the local SMU – pretty much the entire recruiting class was from the Dallas Texans. On the girls side, there was always a bit more competition with Sting being the more established powerhouse. The Texans are a formidable machine in North Texas. There are similar clubs in South Texas, which is a different region altogether. </p>
<p>The best player of that generarion (remember that is a 1-2 year deal) went on to play in Europe at PSG but moved later to an Asian country. In other age groups, many went on to successful college careers and even short stints in the MLS. A number of my friends went to play with the USNational youth teams and attended Bradenton Academy. Two of my good friends were on the U-17 that did so well in New Zealand and several members of that team traveled frequently to Dallas. The entire team trained quite often in Texas and that gave plenty of opportunities to see Donovan, Martin, Onyewu, Tembly, or Beckerman in action. </p>
<p>The big event in Dallas was the Dallas Cup and it served as a good reminder of the differences between the top US teams and the forign teams that traveled to Texas. Depending on the dates, there were a few times when some of the best clubs came. Other years, the best teams traveled to other tournaments such as the one hosted by Ajax or the Viareggio Cup. Mexican teams did usually pretty in the lowest age groups (some cynics claimed that loose paperwork helped a lot) but they stopped dominating when the tournament changed the rules about free lodgin with local families. </p>
<p>A couple of my Mexican friends spent years in the yo-yo between the first team and their feeders teams. Think MLB and the farm teams. There is a huge difference between the life with the first team and their second or third teams. Glorious at the highest level with first class travel and high salaries. The next team might travel by bus and stay in 1 star hotels. Four big dudes in a room after riding a bus for 1500 miles! Not exactly a great life! </p>
<p>PS California is one of the top states in soccer. And there are plenty of teams that dominate the best Texan teams in various age groups. Stanford does extremely well with its “local” recruiting. </p>
<p>Xiggi’s post reminded me of something.</p>
<p>A problem for Latinos in the US who want to play is that in the US, unlike many other countries, soccer is a sport for wealthy people (think your suburban league with expensive uniforms, etc.) and many of these kids cannot afford that. If you think of the big stars in the sport historically (people like Beckham, Pelé further back, Messi today) they don’t come from money. If they had been in the US, they might not have made it (soccer leagues are expensive: uniforms, travel, fees, …)</p>
<p>I am not surprised that many players from those Dallas teams played in college or levels higher. That Dallas team was the best team my kid’s team ever played. I heard the team recruited from 200 miles around Dallas. That Dallas game was the best game . My son set up the three first best chances to score in that game during the first 10 minutes. And I think the team choked two of those chances because the guys knew this was the BEST team they were facing. </p>
<p>And it wouldnt have mattered if they did score. Dallas was going to win that game. Once Dallas scored in the 11th minute the game was over. But it was never as bad as Germany against Brazil. :)</p>
<p>My son’s team was ranked somewhere in the top 50. They got the pleasure of playing Dallas, and the numbers 2,3 and 6th team in the country. The 6th team was a dirty team. They held body parts. These were 13 year olds. The fouls were ridiculous. Mean. My son’s team beat that 6th team on pks. :)</p>
<p>That Dallas team played fair. They didnt need to foul anybody. They were skilled and fast and fit and played as a team. I loved the way they played. Still remember that game and it was a long time ago.</p>
<p>It has been awhile. The center mid of the Dallas team I think was drafted to play in the MLS. The forward was awesome and I would not be surprised if he was drafted. </p>
<p>Xiggi, I like what you wrote. Looks like a hard life if you dont get to the top. </p>
<p>I took my kid to the Stanford-Cal football game. It was sold out. During half time the Stanford-Cal soccer game was played on the big screen. We are watching the soccer game and my son says, “Nobody is at the soccer game. The stands are empty”.</p>
<p>I said, “Yes.”</p>
<p>^^^I went to some of the UNC women’s soccer games and the crowds were about the same as for my Ds’ club soccer games in high school. Not impressive attendance for the National Champions. </p>
<p>All those great UNC teams and people still didn’t go to the games!</p>
<p>I am optimistic about soccer in this country. I think the fan base is going to increase dramatically over the next 20 years.</p>
<p>The NBA finals were tape delayed on tv 35 years ago.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you remember the age group of your son, I might be able to tell you. I am mostly familar with 81s to 87s. And this because we shared the same coach and practiced one after each other. </p>
<p>As far as recruiting, the Dallas Texans cast a very wide net, and grew by absorbing smaller clubs in the metroplex, and then repeating the same feat later way outside Dallas. Clint Dempsey was one such kids although he came to attend one of the most brutal soccer experiences in Dallas, namely the tryouts. Little 11 years travel from one field to another hoping to secure a “contract” with a top team. If rejected, they go down the list and try their luck with a “lesser” team. And this happens in 100+ degree weather. This was only the preamble to the August craziness with the qualifications tournament to enter into the big Classic league in Dallas proper, or be relegated to the suburban wastelands of Plano or Arlington. It is hard to imagine the pressure of those first weeks. And maybe why the scenes on the sidelines are quite crazy! </p>
<p>Things got a bit better when each club started academies and found players through the indoors tournaments before the age a kid could be contracted. Also, the open season for tryouts is brutal for the bench players are teams such as the Texans tend to replace their lowest performing kids who spend time on the bench. Those kids are sent to the B or C teams. The replacements are often the best players from their direct competitions. In a club like the Texans, very few players started as U-11. By the third year, the team might have 12 new faces. </p>
<p>Select soccer (or travel soccer) is not for the faintest of hearts, and it IS quite expensive. </p>
<p>Travel soccer is very expensive. </p>
<p>I think it would be the 88’s. My kid was born in the 2nd half of 88. Yeah… 88’s. Anybody make it to the pros from the 88 team? (I know this isnt between 81-87).</p>
<p>Those tryouts you wrote about are brutal. Nothing like around here when my son played. I dont know how it is today. There was talk of combining teams to form a super team to compete with the likes of the Texas teams. </p>
<p>When I watched the Dallas team play…a thought came to my mind. How good are the young kids in Texas who are playing American football instead of soccer? Must be pretty damn good!</p>
<p>Xiggi, you must have been pretty good yourself. :)</p>
<p>DStark, the Dallas Texans Red 1988 was a monster team – and both in boys and girls. I am not certain of the rules in CA, but your son might have an 89. He would have in Texas if born after August 1st. I was born in August, and that moved me to the younger side. I spent several years being the tallest and fastest on my team. Helped the life of a center forward! Yet, the real star in our family was my younger sister who was a national youth team player for 5 years. </p>
<p>The Dallas Texans of that era included U.S. U-20 Andre Akpan (Harvard), U.S. Pan-American Games players Stephen McCarthy (Santa Clara) and Omar Gonzalez (Maryland and WC 2014 team) and Jonathan Villanueva (Virginia), who represented the USA in U-20 World Cup qualifying. Other names? Dworsky, Murphy, and Saintus, depending the age group. When they reach the U-17 level, players might play on teams above their own age group, and that makes the age groups fluid in U-19. Teams also lose players to the IMG Academy and only play in the Nationals or Regionals. </p>
<p>Here are a few notes from the DT site:</p>
<p>Dallas Texans Red 88 Boys Score a “Threepeat” in National Championships!!</p>
<p>Our Dallas Texans Red 88 Boys put the final exclamation mark on an impressive nine-year run by capturing their third consecutive US Youth Soccer National Championship with a 1-0 win over Chicago Magic. No other US team can claim three National Championships complimented by a Dallas Cup Super Group championship!</p>
<p>History was made…in 2006
1st time in History for American Team to Win the Super Group…
Dallas Texans 88 Red Dallas - CHAMPIONS (v. Santos Laguna - 4-2)</p>